


Broken, but You'll Never Know

by romanee



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Hinamori-centric, Role Reversal, Role Swap AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:00:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25816183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanee/pseuds/romanee
Summary: Things aren't always as they seem. Especially when it comes to a one Hinamori Momo.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Broken, but You'll Never Know

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Ru's role swap au artwork on twitter/tumblr!
> 
> This ended up differently than what I had originally wanted to do, but I'm still very happy with it! I really love the idea of Momo and Aizen switching places and while this is more centered around her, I hope yall enjoy it! <3

Laughing behind her left hand at her captain’s usual overexaggerated antics, with her other hand she waved goodbye to him–her cheeks flushed pink from how much she’d been previously trying to hold back her laughter–and nodded, promising that she’d take things easy the next couple of days. 

The silent statement of: _"If you did your work on time, Captain, I wouldn’t have to finish things you didn’t.”_ never left her mouth, but as Captain Hirako’s arms dropped to his sides with his goofy facial expression shifting to one full of quiet remorse, she knew she didn’t have to. With her back to the outside, a shiver ran up her spine as the wind picked up for a moment, cooling her warm skin as she bowed. 

“I assure you, while I tease, I don’t mind cleaning up after you, paperwork wise, Captain Hirako.” 

And she didn’t. If anything, she quite enjoyed it. Making time for extra paperwork was therapeutic for her in more ways than one. But when her captain sighed, she looked up in time to see him shaking his head and running his fingers through his long hair as he pulled it over his right shoulder. Playing with strands of it mindlessly. 

“Momo, you’re too kind.” 

_Am I?_

“You can tell me off or something, you know? I might be a captain, but if things I’m doing are stressing you out...” 

His voice trailed, and Momo found herself staring at him blankly as he stared down at his hair, the warmth from her skin now gone from how long she’d been standing in the entryway. 

Her mind, peacefully blank as she took in the sight of her silly captain. 

She really was lucky, too lucky, to have such a caring man as her captain–even if he didn’t show it often. 

“Thank you, Captain Hirako.” 

Her eyes never wavering, she watched as his eyes snapped up to meet hers, his brow furrowed. 

“For what?” 

She smiled, soft, _genuine_ , as she shook her head, “Nothing at all! Now, I really must be going. Have a good night, captain.” Bowing once more, breaking eye contact, she turned on her heel and slid the sliding door shut before any more nonsense could be said. 

With her back to the door, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then pushed away from it and started making her way towards her room. Since she was in no hurry, she took her time, enjoying the fresh air around her and the light breeze brushing past her face, further cooling her. 

Taking the long way back to her quarters, Momo smiled and waved at each squad member she encountered. 

With some, she stopped to share pleasantries with, but not before waving them off when they started to apologize for keeping her, as she must be exhausted after dealing with not only her own work but looking over Captain Hirako’s–to make sure the absolute most important documents were taken care of, of course. 

Half crossing her arms and tapping her lower lip, she hummed. “He’s a good man and means well. Besides, if you all didn’t like how he ran things, you’d have left or made a real complaint by now, no?” 

Her eyes swept over each of them, and the corners of her lips pinched up in a small smile as some grumbled while others blushed, knowing her words to be true. While they all liked to poke fun at their captain, they all knew he cared for them and would do anything to protect them all. 

After a few more minutes of conversating, one of the other girls bowed, reminding them: “Lieutenant Hinamori must be tired, let’s let her continue on her way so she can rest!”which led the others to follow the girl’s lead. This time, instead of apologizing for taking up her time, they thanked her for her time. 

“I’m your lieutenant, of course, I don’t mind spending time with you all! I enjoy it a lot!” 

Upon seeing their faces perk up and brighten at her words made something in her stomach twist; without wasting another second, she bid them farewell and thanked them for their hard work and wishing them a good night before continuing on her way. 

Not even sparing a glance behind her. 

Sliding her door close, similar to when she was leaving the captain’s office, she rested her back against the wood. Only this time, in the quiet of her own personal space, with no one around to witness a single thing, Momo’s shoulders slumped down–every ounce of liveliness she surrounded herself with feeling as though it were dripping off her. 

Heaving a heavy sigh, she tipped her head back till it met the door then slide down to the floor till she was sitting with her legs out in front of her. 

She wasn’t sure how long she sat in the darkness of her room, but eventually, she pushed herself up off the floor and shuffled her way towards her futon. Once she reached it, she didn’t lay herself out across it, but simply sat crossed-legged in the middle. Waiting. 

Tugging her hair out of its done-up bun, she let it fall over her shoulders. Then, and only then, did she start a little bit more like herself, and not some empty shell parading around to make others happy. 

_My face hurts..._

Closing her eyes, locking herself further into darkness, Momo thought of the laughs she’d shared not too long ago with her captain. 

_What a fool of a man you are,_ _Hirako_ _Shinji._ She thought idly. 

And yet. 

_And yet, the laughs we share are far more genuine than anything I’ve felt in who knows how long._

Faking smiles with the rest of her squad was easy enough, but unfortunately, her captain seemed to hone in on those ones more often than not, resulting in events like earlier, where he makes himself out to be more of a fool, and for what? 

To make her laugh? Loud and real? 

Momo huffed to herself. 

_Truly a foolish man._

A knock at her door had her opening her eyes. A lone silhouette, outlined by the moon, stood outside her door, and with it alone, she knew who was visiting her. 

When she spoke, even and soft, her words echoed around her. “Come in.” 

As the door slide open and Kaname stepped in, Momo stood to her feet and held Tobiume tight in her fist. 

“Shall we go?” 

A smile like nothing she’d ever shown to her squad or captain bloomed across her face, and again, she felt truly like herself. 

“Yes, we’ve got lots to experiment with tonight, don’t we?” 

Soon, she’d no longer be a broken shell of a soul, but beautiful and whole. And she couldn’t wait to rip Hirako Shinji, her squad, and the rest of the Gotei 13 to shreds till not even a recognizable morsel was left of them.

**Author's Note:**

> ♡Comments & Kudos are appreciated!♡


End file.
